Former world boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine has accused IOC President Thomas Bach of serving the “colors and interests of Russia”.
The International Olympic Committee’s decision to open the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to world sport “contaminates the Olympic spirit and is like this war: nonsense,” Klitschko wrote on Twitter.
He also posted a picture of himself with the Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold medal around his neck. Klitschko described the recommendation to the world associations to bring the previously banned athletes back to the sports stages under conditions such as a “neutral flag” as a “false flag”.
“Mr. Bach should go to Butscha”
The 47-year-old, whose brother Vitaly is the mayor of Kiev, is one of the strongest critics of IOC President Bach, who he previously accused of representing “Russian interests rather than Olympic values”.
In an interview with Sunday’s “FAZ” in February, Klitschko said: “Mr. Bach should go to Bucha. It’s time he compared the propaganda from Moscow with the reality on the ground.”